comparing thoughts on the Karen Quinlan case End-of-life decisions and controversies came to a head for the first time with Karen Quinlan. Her parents wanted their daughter to be able to die instead of suffering in limbo. I discussed the case with a colleague Aaron and we discussed our thoughts and what we would do if we found ourselves in a similar situation. There are many ethical theories that can be used to discuss this topic in detail. Karen Ann Quinlan was 21 years old and fell into a coma after taking drugs and alcohol at a party while in college. After a short time the doctors declared her to be in a persistent vegetative state with no possibility of recovery. Shortly thereafter her parents decided they wanted her to be taken off the ventilator so she could die with dignity. The hospital refused and the family went to court to ask her father Joe Quinlan for parental guardianship to make decisions about her medical care. After losing the initial case, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled in favor of the family in June 1976. Shortly thereafter, she was removed from the respirator. Her family decided to keep the feeding tube because they are Catholic and removing it would have been against their religious beliefs. Karen was transferred to Morris View Nursing Home in June 1976. She lived for the next 9 years in a vegetative state but breathing on her own. He died on June 11, 1985 of pneumonia (Story by Karen Ann Quinlan and the Memorial Foundation, n.d.). I spoke with Aaron, a 27-year-old friend and colleague, about his thoughts on this case. She believed the family had the right to want to remove their daughter's ventilator. Aaron is married with 2 children and said… middle of paper… Quinlan and the Memorial Foundation, n.d.). Karen Quinlan's case sparked the movement for the rights of end-of-life patients and their families (Story of Karen Ann Quinlan and the Memorial Foundation, n.d.). The Quinlans wanted to be able to choose how their child would die. Aaron and I have agreed on how to handle end-of-life situations with our family. There are many ethical theories I could have used to help me determine what I would do. I choose to focus on Emotivism and Utilitarianism. References Story by Karen Ann Quinlan and the Memorial Foundation. (n.d.). Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice. Retrieved February 19, 2014, from http://www.karenannquinlanhospice.org/history/Webster, J. (Director) (January 30, 2014). Ethics. Foundation of ethics. Lecture conducted by Jefferson College of Health Sciences, Roanoke.